Nociceptive Neurons in the Spinal Cord

The spinal column isn't just a sort of passive relay station or like a highway. It's involved in actively modulating the strength of these nociceptive signals. Local interneurons inhibit the activity of secondary dorsal horn neurons that receive from the pain center. So this is top-down control which serves as a mechanism by which pain can be regulated or modulated by top-down signals. But it also affects the very signals that are sent up there in the first place.